Olympians empowers BIPOC girls to get involved in sport
Young girls in the Windsor-Essex region had the opportunity of a lifetime Saturday, learning from world class athletes.
Female students from grade four to 10 who identify as black, indigenous or people of colour (BIPOC), were invited to a special event filled with fun and fitness in hopes of encouraging them to get active.
“I’m the upcoming next generation of athletes in my opinion,” said Ella Steel Douglas.
The 14-year-old has been in track and field since she was seven.
“I love long jump, jumping, sprinting. I hope to be a 200 metre runner and to be a long jump Olympian,” she said.
Steel Douglas is one of 60 girls participating in the third annual ‘Girls Can’ summit hosted by Border City Athletics. Organizers say the event aims to get BIPOC girls involved in sport.
“One in four girls have dropped out of sport due to COVID, just not having the opportunity to be involved and having the camaraderie to be around other females has really stifled their development,” said Kurt Downes, president and head coach of Border City Athletics
“Get girls in sport and staying in sport is really important,” said Olympian Noelle Montcalm.
From basic skills to running drills, participants had the opportunity to learn from four Olympians and elite female athletes.
“I am a three time Olympian now and I want to inspire the girls and say ‘you can do what it takes’ because I did it,” said Crystal Emmanuel.
“Noelle, she was one of the first Olympians that I encountered, so to have that times three is super inspiring for myself,” said Steel Douglas.
Many parents loved the opportunity for their daughters.
“It’s good opportunity for sports for kids at this age. Hopefully in the future we see more black kids in women’s football or other sports too,” said Blessing Ayininoula.
Organizers hope to collect research at the event to understand the biggest hurdles some girls face when it comes to getting involved in sport.
“It’s ok to be unique, to have a different culture, you know to be from an area that’s socially, economically not fantastic, but you can still strive to be amazing, to be great, and you can do it through sport. Why not?” says Downes.
“Hopefully we can inspire a few of them to come on over to the sport world,” Emmanuel added.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus survives vote calling for his ouster
Greg Fergus survived a vote to oust him as House of Commons Speaker on Tuesday, but with close to half of MPs expressing a loss of confidence in him, he faces a precarious path forward in maintaining order in Parliament.
'It was hell': Israeli mother held hostage with her children describes 51 days in captivity
Hagar Brodutch, her three children and four-year-old neighbour were kidnapped by Hamas-led militants from their home in Kfar Aza, Israel on Oct. 7 and held for 51 days. They were released in November, but Brodutch says her thoughts are never far from those still being held in Gaza.
'Unruly passenger' forces WestJet flight to make emergency landing in B.C.
A WestJet flight heading to Calgary had to make an emergency landing in northern B.C. Monday due to an incident involving an 'unruly passenger,' Mounties say.
P.E.I. kiteboarder 'lucky to be alive' after shark attack in Turks and Caicos
A professional kiteboarder from P.E.I. says he has been seriously injured in a shark attack that occurred while he was snorkelling in the Turks and Caicos Islands last week.
Teen dies after being hit by train in N.W. Calgary
A teenager has died after being hit by a train in northwest Calgary on Tuesday afternoon.
Black bear kebabs make family sick with parasitic worms
It was supposed to be a celebration, but one family’s unique meal of black bear meat sent several members to the hospital instead.
'It's his vacation too': Jimmy the baby goat joins 2-week road trip across Canada
After Jimmy the baby goat was shunned by his mother, a New Brunswick man took the kid on a two-week road trip across Canada.
The double-level airplane seat is back. This time, there’s a first-class version
It’s the airplane seat design that launched a thousand memes and kickstarted a media storm. And now the double-level seat is back – only this time, with a twist.
New COVID-19 subvariants become the dominant strains in Canada
More than four years after COVID-19 effectively shut down the world, two new variants of COVID-19 have become the dominant strains of the novel coronavirus in Canada.